Featured: U.S. Border Patrol’s “Head of the Class” program recently honored four students from the Edinburg Independent Consolidated School District. Border Patrol officials said that the program recognizes the academic excellence of 69 high-achieving seniors from high schools throughout the Valley. Students were nominated by their respective schools and selected by a committee. The students were selected based on being well-rounded students, who are involved in their schools and communities, as well as excelling in academics and promoting a drug-free lifestyle. From left, front row, are: Vela High School senior Eric Anthony Jackson; Edinburg North High School senior Olivia Vela; Economedes High School senior Ángela María López; Edinburg High School senior Bryan López; and U.S. Border Patrol Agent Rubén García Jr.; Back row, from left, are: U.S. Border Patrol Agent Robert R. Galván; Vela High School Principal Sylvia Ledesma; Edinburg North High School Principal Mark Micallef; Edinburg High School Principal Yesenia Molina; and Economedes High School Principal Dr. Raúl D’Lorm. The students will compete with dozens of other Valley honorees for at least three $1,000 scholarships, which the Border Patrol expects to award in the spring. Miguel “Mike” Farías, Vice President of the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation, is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Edinburg school district, and Edinburg City Councilmember Gilbert Enríquez, who serves as President of the Edinburg EDC Board of Directors, is a former longtime member of the Board of Trustees of the Edinburg school district. The Edinburg EDC is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council. In addition to Enríquez and Farías, the Edinburg EDC Board of Directors is comprised of Isael Posadas, P.E., as Secretary/Treasurer, and Julio César Carranza and Noé Sauceda, Ph.D. as Members.

Photograph By MARK MONTEMAYOR

Edinburg posted an unemployment rate of 4.9 percent in December 2017, representing 37,232 jobs for that month, making the city, along with McAllen, the only two major economies in the Rio Grande Valley which came under the five percent level, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. The unemployment rate is a key indicator of the strength of the local economy. The Edinburg EDC is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council. These latest figures, prepared by the Texas Workforce Commission and released on Friday, January 19, 2018, showed that there was an increase of 265 people employed in Edinburg in December 2017 (37,232) compared with November 2017 (36,967). Also, Edinburg saw a growth of 756 jobs when comparing the monthly total for December 2017, (37,232) and December 2016 (36,476), according to the Edinburg EDC. In addition, the December 2017 unemployment rate of 4.9 percent represents the sixth time during that month that the city’s unemployment rate has been below five percent since 2005, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. The number of jobs in Edinburg is independently documented by the Texas Workforce Commission, a state agency with many key duties, such as maintaining and reporting on key trends in state and local economies, including unemployment rates and the number of people employed in cities. The unemployment rate is the number of persons unemployed, expressed as a percentage of the civilian labor force, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. The civilian labor force is that portion of the population age 16 and older employed or unemployed. To be considered unemployed, a person has to be not working but willing and able to work and actively seeking work. During 2017, Edinburg has recorded one of the lowest unemployment rates among Valley cities in April and May, and came in with the second-lowest unemployment rates during the other months in 2017 through July. McAllen, which came in with a 5.4 percent unemployment in May 2017, tied Edinburg for the best showing for that month. For the past several years, Edinburg has registered the lowest or second-lowest monthly unemployment rate among all Valley cities. Edinburg’s December 2017 unemployment rate of 4.9 percent is part of a consistent pattern of positive reports, including November 2017 (4.8 percent); October 2017 (4.7 percent), September 2017 (5.5 percent), August 2017 (6.2 percent), July (5.7 percent), June 2017 (5.9), May 2017 (5.4 percent), April 2017 (5.4 percent), March 2017 (6 percent), February 2017 (6.4 percent) and January 2017 (6.2 percent). The Edinburg EDC Board of Directors is comprised of City Councilmember Gilbert Enríquez as President, Edinburg School Board Trustee Miguel “Mike” Farías as Vice-President, Isael Posadas, P.E., as Secretary/Treasurer, and Julio César Carranza and Noé Sauceda, Ph.D. as Members.

Featured, from left: Bob Becquet, President of Coastal Deli, Inc. of Corpus Christi, which operates 16 Jason’s Deli franchises in Texas and New Mexico, including the latest one which opened in Edinburg on October 2, 2017; Edinburg City Councilmember Gilbert Enríquez, who also serves as President, Board of Directors, Edinburg Economic Development Corporation, and Johnny Rodríguez, a former President of the Board of Directors for the Edinburg Chamber of Commerce, who serves as a public relations professional for the Bert Ogden Dealership Group in Edinburg. The three men were participating in a preview tour of the city’s latest national restaurant chain, which has locations in 266 delis in 28 states, including Jason’s Deli in Edinburg, located at 1618 W. University Drive. The Edinburg restaurant currently employs 70 staff members.

Photograph By RONNIE LARRALDE

Edinburg posted an unemployment rate of 4.7 percent in October 2017, representing 36,693 jobs for that month, and both figures are improvements over the previous month, when the unemployment rate in September 2017 was 5.5 percent, with 36,578 persons employed that month, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. The unemployment rate is a key indicator of the strength of the local economy.These latest figures, prepared by the Texas Workforce Commission and released on Thursday, November 17, 2017, showed that there was an increase of 115 people employed in Edinburg in October 2017 (36,693) compared with September 2017 (36,578). Also, Edinburg saw a growth of 554 jobs when comparing the monthly total for October 2017, (36,693) and October 2016 (36,139), according to the Edinburg EDC. In addition, the October 2017 unemployment rate of 4.7 percent is the second-best showingin Edinburg for that month since 2007, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. Edinburg and McAllen, which posted an unemployment rate for October 2017 of 4.2 percent, compared favorably with other large population centers in the Valley, which reported unemployment rates ranging from 5.3 percent (Harlingen) to 6.1 percent (Pharr). The Edinburg EDC, of which Agustín García is Executive Director, is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council. The Edinburg EDC Board of Directors is comprised of City Councilmember Gilbert Enríquez as President, Edinburg School Board Trustee Miguel “Mike” Farías as Vice-President, Isael Posadas, P.E., as Secretary/Treasurer, and Julio César Carranza and Noé Sauceda as Members. The unemployment rate is a key indicator of the strength of the local economy.

Featured: Dr. Marie Mora, Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Diversity and Professor of Economics at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, has been awarded a grant for $499,352 by the National Science Foundation to help fund the American Economic Association mentoring program. Mora, who has served as director of the program since 2013, said its goal is to help augment the number of minorities completing doctoral degrees in economics. The Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council, along with the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation and its Board of Directors, lobby the Texas Legislature and the UT System Board of Regents on matters that benefit and protect UTRGV and its School of Medicine, which have major campuses in the city.

Photograph By PAUL CHOUY

Edinburg posted an unemployment rate of 5.5 percent in September 2017, representing 36,511 jobs for that month, and both figures are improvements over the previous month, when the unemployment rate in August 2017 was 6.2 percent, with 36,159 persons employed that month, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. The Edinburg EDC, of which Agustín García is Executive Director, is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council. The unemployment rate is a key indicator of the strength of the local economy. These latest figures, prepared by the Texas Workforce Commission and released on Friday, October 20, 2017, showed that there was an increase of 352 people employed in Edinburg in September 2017 compared with August 2017. Also, Edinburg saw a growth of 473 jobs when comparing the monthly total for September 2017, (36,511) and September 2016 (36,038), according to the Edinburg EDC. In addition, the September 2017 unemployment rate of 5.5 percent is the second-best showing in Edinburg for that month since 2008, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. The number of jobs in Edinburg is independently documented by the Texas Workforce Commission, a state agency with many key duties, such as maintaining and reporting on key trends in state and local economies, including unemployment rates and the number of people employed in cities. The unemployment rate is the number of persons unemployed, expressed as a percentage of the civilian labor force, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. The civilian labor force is that portion of the population age 16 and older employed or unemployed. To be considered unemployed, a person has to be not working but willing and able to work and actively seeking work. For the past several years, Edinburg has registered the lowest or second-lowest monthly unemployment rate among all Valley cities. Edinburg’s September 2017 unemployment rate of 5.5 percent is part of a consistent pattern of positive reports, including August 2017 (6.2 percent), July (5.7 percent), June 2017 (5.9), May 2017 (5.4 percent), April 2017 (5.4 percent), March 2017 (6 percent), February 2017 (6.4 percent) and January 2017 (6.2 percent). The Edinburg EDC Board of Directors is comprised of Mayor Richard García as President, Harvey Rodríguez, Jr. as Vice President, Elías Longoria, Jr. as Secretary/Treasurer, and Richard Ruppert and Dr. Peter Dabrowski as Members. Mayor Richard García and Edinburg EDC Executive Director Agustín García are not related.

Featured: The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine in Edinburg. During their meeting in Austin on Wednesday, August 23, 2017 and Thursday, August 24, 2017, the University of Texas System Board of Regents reinforced its commitment to The UTRGV School of Medicine, which has a major campus in Edinburg, by approving $20 million in Permanent University Funds (PUF) for capital expenses. “We are grateful to the Board of Regents for its continued support of the UTRGV School of Medicine,” said Dr. John Krouse, Dean of the UTRGV School of Medicine and Vice president for Health Affairs. “This allocation will enable the School of Medicine to become a leader in research that will benefit the Rio Grande Valley and beyond, and prepare the next generation of physicians who will provide exceptional care to the communities they serve.” The Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council, along with the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation and its Board of Directors, lobby the Texas Legislature and the UT System Board of Regents on matters that benefit and protect UTRGV and its School of Medicine, which have major campuses in the city.

Photograph by SILVER SALAS

For the second straight month, Edinburg and McAllen were the only two major Valley cities which posted unemployment rates under six percent, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. The unemployment rate is a key indicator of the strength of the local economy. For the month of July 2017, the latest figures available from the Texas Workforce Commission, Edinburg had an unemployment rate of 5.7 percent, which was an improvement from June 2017, which came in at 5.9 percent. This latest data also showed that Edinburg saw a growth of 492 jobs when comparing the monthly totals of July 2017 (36,037)and July 2016 (35,545), according to the Edinburg EDC. Edinburg and McAllen, which posted an unemployment rate of 5.2 percent, compared favorably with other large population centers in the Valley, which reported unemployment rates ranging from 6.5 percent (Harlingen) to9 percent (Weslaco). During 2017, Edinburg has recorded one of the lowest unemployment rates among Valley cities in April and May, and came in with the second-lowest unemploymentrates during the other months in 2017 through July. McAllen, which came in with a 5.4 percent unemployment in May 2017, tied Edinburg for the best showing for that month. For the past several years, Edinburg has registered the lowest or second-lowest monthly unemployment rates among all Valley cities. The unemployment rate is the number of persons unemployed, expressed as a percentage of the civilian labor force, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. The civilian labor force is that portion of the population age 16 and older employed or unemployed. To be considered unemployed, a person has to be not working but willing and able to work and actively seeking work. Edinburg’s July 2017unemployment rate of 5.7 percent is part of a consistent pattern of positive reports, including June 2017 (5.9), May 2017 (5.4 percent), April 2017 (5.4 percent), March 2017 (6 percent), February 2017 (6.4 percent) and January 2017 (6.2 percent). The Edinburg EDC, of which Agustín García is Executive Director, is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council. The Edinburg EDC Board of Directors is comprised of Mayor Richard García as President, Harvey Rodríguez, Jr. as Vice President, Elías Longoria, Jr. as Secretary/Treasurer, and Richard Ruppert and Dr. Peter Dabrowski as Members. Mayor Richard García and Edinburg EDC Executive Director Agustín García are not related.

Featured: Guy Bailey, Ph.D, President, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley; William H. McRaven, Chancellor, The University of Texas System; and Havidán Rodríguez, Ph.D., Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, on Saturday, July 23, 2016. The three UT System leaders were among hundreds of other dignitaries, family, and well-wishers who gathered at the UTRGV Performing Arts Complex auditorium in Edinburg to congratulate the inaugural class of 55 students who are beginning their first year of medical school in Edinburg. The Edinburg Mayor, Edinburg City Council, and Edinburg Economic Development Corporation played key roles in 2013 in securing a full-fledged medical school from the Texas Legislature for deep South Texas. Rodríguez also is a former member of the Edinburg EDC Board of Directors.

Photograph By DAVID PIKE

For the first time in almost a year, Edinburg’s unemployment rate rose above five percent, based on the June 2016 estimate by the Texas Workforce Commission, but that figure still represents the best showing for that month in the city since June 2008, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. Edinburg, with a 5.4 percent monthly unemployment rate, along with McAllen (5.1 percent) and Harlingen (5.7 percent), were the only three cities in deep South Texas to post figures for June 2016 under six percent, the Texas Workforce Commission reported on Friday, July 22, 2016. According to the latest data, there were 36,322 people employed in Edinburg during the month of June 2016. That performance represents an increase of 612 jobs in Edinburg when comparing the employment figures for June 2016 (36,322) and June 2015 (35,710).